January 10, 2017January 10, 2017 Peter Witkowski Book Reviews, Parenting

Parenting: Book Review

I once had a parent look at me confused. I had asked him to trace his parenting practices back to the Bible. Sure, he could point to Ephesians 6:4 and could allude to principles laid out in Deuteronomy 6, Colossians 3, and Psalm 76. But for him and for the many other parents who’ve been worn down by the daily grind of parenting, these passages feel like far too little far too late. We feel that the Bible is far removed from our experience.

And, we do not need another verse or five-step program. We need a holistic biblical solution that addresses our complex parenting needs and the complex needs of our kids with the entirety of the Bible.

Thankfully, we now have resource that will help us do just that. Sensing that parents like you and me were struggling with bringing all of the Scriptures to bear on our parenting, Paul David Tripp wrote the book, (appropriately titled) Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles The Can Radically Change Your Family. In 14 short chapters, Paul David Tripp lays out the grand scriptural principles that every parent needs to grab ahold of as they search for purpose, hope, and rest.

He writes,

Parenting is not first and about what we want for our children or form our children, but about what God in grace has planned to do through us in our children.”

I do not know about you, but I find this idea to be a game changer!

In his book, Paul David Tripp shifts the focus of our parenting from forcing our kids to behave and achieve our goals to the heart of the matter. He leads us away from the things that we cannot control to the responsibilities that God has given us.

Paul David Tripp shows us why our hearts slide into depression, anger, despair, harsh words, and manipulation every time we encounter our kid drawing on the wall. And then, he goes on to reveal how all of the Bible addresses our sinful heart issues and the sinful heart issues of our kids. He show us that the Bible does indeed provide hope and solutions to all of our parenting problems. We will survive if we cling to the Bible.

Admittedly, not all the Bible is about yelling kids, disrespectful middle schoolers, and lying teenagers. But, all of the Bible is about helping sinners (including parents) overcome their sinful heart issues through the saving power of the cross.

Parenting was never supposed to be reduced down to a few verses. We parents are complex sinful people in need of much grace and instruction. (So are our kids.) To parent well, we need to appeal to the whole counsel of God, which addresses our depression, anger, and every other heart issue the pops up while we tell little Johnny, “NO” for the hundredth time. And it addresses every heart issue that compels our children to be who they are.

Friends, the Bible is fully sufficient for everything that “pertains to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Paul David Tripp reminds us (parents) of this beautiful truth with powerful precision over 224 helpful pages. Of all the parenting and family books I’ve read to date (and I’ve read a lot being parent and preschool and Children’s pastor) this is my favorite.

If you are a parent, or if you are thinking about becoming a parent, or if you simply want to understand your own heart better, I encourage you to read this book. Paul David Tripp has winsomely and powerfully shown us how the Scriptures should radically change and influence the way we parent.

Paul’s Scripture infused words, have both encouraged and rebuked my heart over and over again, blessing my soul and my family.

How about you? Are you ready to be challenged?

Click here to buy your copy today:

November 10, 2016November 10, 2016 Peter Witkowski Book Reviews

3 Tips For For Finding The Next Great Christian Resource!

books Have there ever been so many Christian Books in print as now? I think not. Seemingly every day a new book, Bible study, and or instructional video is released with the seemingly magical ability to make Christendom great again. Read this, and you will be the best parent ever. Try this plan, and your besetting sin will disappear. Watch this…and well…your life will be better than ever before. And all these pleas connect with our hearts because we all want to grow closer to Christ. We all have spiritual battles. But at the end of the day, not all resources are created equal. And given the fact that few of us can devote large portions of our days to reading and studying, we do not want to squander our precious time on bad books. To determine which resources in your Christian bookstore are spiritual fool’s gold and which contain lasting truth, I encourage ask the follow three questions:

Who Published It?

Who published the book can tell you a lot about the book’s author. Obviously, allpublishers want to sell you their books, curriculums, etc. (Hence all the marketing that often makes picking the right resources very difficult.) If an author’s books fly off the shelves, everyone wants to publish their materials. But with that being said, publishers often still have some convictions and guiding principles that narrow down their list of potential authors.

Publishers will only publish authors who reflect their view(s) of the world. For example, B&H Publishing (the publishing wing of LifeWay) and Crossway Publishing (They produce the ESV Bibles) and P&R Publishers (They publish many fantastic theology books) make it a point to publish resources that are based on a literal and inerrant reading of the Scriptures. Publishers such as Zondervan and Tommy Nelson are a little freer with who they publish. For example, Tommy Nelson publishes books by Donald Miller (Blue Like Jazz) and commentaries by Dr. Thomas Schreiner (which are sound theologically and academically). And other publishers like, Faith Words – who puts out all the Joel Osteen materials – should simply be avoided. #FoolsGold anyone?

At the end of the day, seeing who publishes a book will not tell you everything you need to know. But it is a great starting point. Check on the publisher.

Who Endorsed It?

Now as a noted above, some publishers publish both good and bad authors. Just discovering who the publisher is not a fool proof. You need to explore a little more. You need to check the endorsements. If another author that you know and trust endorses the book, then you can be pretty sure the book is good. (At the very least your confidence in the book should be as great as your confidence in the one endorsing it.) If you are like me, you probably will not recognize all the names on the back of the book. I recently read Vertical Church by James McDonald (I highly recommend it). Thirty-seven people endorsed the book! The publishers want to get a wide variety of endorsements on their publication so that they can market it to the largest Christian demographic possible. That being said, do not worry about why some Anglican pastor you never heard of endorsed the book in your hand. If Dr. Albert Mohler, John MacArthur, and Paul David Tripp also endorsed that same book, it is probably one really good resources. If you don’t know any of the endorsers, that’s probably not a good sign.

Endorsements are never forced or fabricated. For example, the evangelist Greg Laurie once stretched the truth by saying John MacArthur endorsed his ministry. MacArthur quickly forced Laurie to retract the claim and to change his materials. Endorsements matter and are guarded closely by those who give them. Before you start flipping through the table of contents, check the endorsements. If people you trust stand by a publication or program, you can trust those resources. Check the endorsements.

Does Your Pastor Like It?

If you want to skip steps one and two, go straight to your pastor(s) and/or elder(s). Ask them, “who are your favorite authors?” Ask them to recommend books and resources that will help you.

Do not worry about bothering them. This is part of their job. They are called to lead and shepherd you, in-part by getting good resources into your hands and by protecting you from wolves in sheep’s clothing. Ask them for help! Most will love to direct you to great resources.

As a young college student, I knew I could trust C.S. Lewis, Francis Shaffer, and John Macarthur. But I did not have a clue about the other 99% of Christian literature filling the shelves of our local books stores. Thankfully, the pastors at the Bible Church of Little Rock did a great job of exposing me and that church to a host of godly authors. While at the Bible Church, I was introduced to J. I. Packer, C.J. Mahaney, John Piper, Ed Welch, Bruce Ware, Joel Beeke, and Don Whitney to name a few. I was given a solid foundation from which I could build my personal library. I hope and pray your pastors can and will do the same for you.

But if your pastor shirks this duty, I encourage you to fall back on points 1 and 2.

Alright, are you ready to pick out your next book?

November 1, 2016November 1, 2016 Peter Witkowski Book Reviews

It’s All About Jesus: Bible Storybook Review

Being a parent, I know the following to be true: It’s always a blessing to find kids’ books that help us faithfully teach the Bible. But the search for such finds is not always easy. Often faith based books are so stuffed with round, pink, and purple animals that the Bible appears to be on odd Fairy tale that mentions things like say the destruction of the world. On the flip side, other resources can be so rigid that they reach our kids’ ears with all the familiarity of Shakespearean English. Finding books that both honor the authority and the power of the Scriptures and that connect with our kids’ senses has proven to be difficult task for many publishers and parents. Thankfully, LifeWay via B&H Publishing is truly beginning to master this magical art. And, LifeWay’s newest Children’s Bible, It’s All About Jesus: Bible Storybook, is a truly one such great find! I would encourage families with young children to grab a copy of this book.

Here’s why:

What is It:

its-all-about-jesus-1 This wonderful new kids’ Bible consists of 100 chronological stories (50 from the Old Testament and 50 from the New Testament) that seek to help our children understand the scope and sequence of the Bible. Each story is three pages long. The first page lists the Bible story’s title, its location in the Bible and a picture. The stories also have a Christ Connection Circle that shows how the story connects to the greater gospel narrative. For example, when discussing the story of Esther, the Christ Connection points out that the queen’s rescues the Jews from death in the same manner that “God raised Jesus from the dead and defeated Satan once and for all.” And each story is adorned with a question circle that relates the story back to our kids by asking them things like the following: “What home has Jesus promised to those who trust Him; Jesus’ family reminds us of God’s faithfulness. How has God been faithful to you;” and “What are some ways people try to be right with God apart from Jesus?” The stories combined with their colorful presentation and the helpful circles, create a wonderful resource that both proclaims the gospel through the narrative of the Scriptures and that connects with kids’ visual senses. The book truly deserves to be linked to the long line of The Gospel Project for Kids products from which it was born.

What To Like:

its-all-about-jesus-2 The book has great content. The stories in the book are almost direct copies of The Gospel Project For Kids’curriculum minus the craft and game ideas. As a result, you know that the message of each story is closely tied to Scripture. Interpretive remarks are kept at a minimum and Bible citations are frequent! And if you have questions about the story, you can look up the references listed at the top of the page.

By buying this book, you secure access to several years’ worth of Sunday school content. You can integrate this into your kids’ ministry and/or your homeschooling curriculum. Or you could simply read the book to your kids at night to reinforce what they are learning at church. Moreover, the Christ Connections and the question circles help you to further engage your kids with the Bible. Because of the content alone, this children’s Bible should be considered by all parents.

But thankfully the content does not stand alone on dull, empty pages. The children’s Bible is colorfully designed. Every page contains some bright and engaging art work consisting of a picture, a Christ Connection Circle, or a thumbnail of a story’s larger picture. Every page provides young readers with several things to look at as their parents handle discuss the story. This Bible is designed to help capture those every wandering little eyes so that its message can go forward.

What Not to Like:

Overall, this book is hands down one of the best Children’s Bible in print. The book’s only failings come in relation to its big brother, The Big Picture Interactive Bible Story Book. The first Big Picture Bible has many more stories. It tackles things like the Psalms and the books of Hosea and Obadiah. The Big Picture Interactive Bible was the first kids’ Bible that actually tried to touch on all 66 books of the Bible. But because the It’s All about Jesus Bible Storybook covers only 100 stories, it cannot cover the Bible in the same detail as its predecessor. A few stories had to be scrubbed out such as Amos, Habakkuk, and some others (mostly Old Testament Stories).

I presume that much of this switch is due to the fact the LifeWay restructured their second cycle of The Gospel Project for Kids curriculum so that 1.5 years is spent in the Old Testament and 1.5 years is spent in the New Testament. For what it’s worthy (and it’s not much), I preferred having the curriculum reflect the Bible by spending more time in the Old Testament than the New Testament. (Obviously, I lost that debate.) And now it’s time to move on.

Although its content is slightly diminished, this new Children’s Bible is still by far one of the most comprehensive kids’ Bibles out there, touching on David’s sin with Bathsheba, some of the minor prophets, the Parable of the Tenants, Paul’s Ministry, and much much more.

Moreover, this book’s new illustrations, the larger format of the book, and its more kid friendly layout make it much easier to use with younger kids than its predecessor. It truly is improvement over its big brother.

Closing Thoughts:

This is a great children’s Bible. If your church is using The Gospel Project For Kids, you will want to have this book at home. With it on your shelf, you will be ready to review what your kids learn at church and discuss the Scriptures with them in a meaningful way. And even if your church doesn’t use the Gospel Project, you will still want to grab a copy of this children’s Bible. It is the best mix, of Scripture and kid friendly illustrations to date. Thus I think it’s fair to say that this may be the number one Children’s Bible currently available!

Are you ready to get one?

What Children’s Bibles Do You Prefer?